Don't Need Nobody
by Hapax Legomenon
Summary: Don finds a kid in their garage; this follows Frankie's misadventures with the tutles.  2003 turtleverse, OC centric, rated for Frankie's dirty mouth.  No pairings. My first TMNT fic and my first OC; ON INDEFINITE HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hey all; here's my first TMNT fanfic and my first attempt at a published OC – as such, any and all reviews and suggestions are not only welcomed but encouraged. First chapter's kinda rough; please bear with me. Virtual cookie to anyone who can come up with a better title

Disclaimer: I own everything. Really. I do… Okay, fine, the only thing I own here is Frankie and the idea. *Sigh*

New York City, the Big Apple, the American Dream, whatever. You all know where it is. Full of hope, dreams, culture, and crime. The city that never sleeps.

Especially when you're a giant crime-fighting ninja turtle. There's always someone breaking the rules.

Tonight was no different.

But it was going to have to wait.

"Come _on_, Donnie, stop pokin' around and just_ fix_ the dang thing, will ya?"

"Raph, it's going to take me a little while to figure out the problem, and it'll take even longer if you don't stop bothering me. Go do something constructive. Or at least keep Mikey out of my lab."

Grumbling, a giant turtle with a red bandana and a grumpy expression stood up, stretched, and stalked off towards a TV. He wanted to get out on his bike, but there was something wrong with it. Huh, Mikey. He coulda sworn that Mikey had been messing around in the garage earlier; he'd probably broken the bike. Raph stalked off towards where Mikey would undoubtedly be blowing up aliens or something on his video games, fully intending to give him a piece of his mind. And maybe more.

"Yo, Mikey, what were you doin' in the garage earlier? 'Cause I swear, bro, if it was you who screwed up my bike, you're gonna be _so_ dead…"

Back in the garage, a turtle wearing a purple mask shook his head in a combination of amusement and irritation. Typical day for a turtle, he thought. Raph's mad at Mikey, wow, what a shocker! Though he didn't think that whatever had happened to the bike was Mikey's fault. The orange-loving turtle knew better than to mess with Raph's bike.

He hoped.

Sighing, he went back to examining the mechanisms of the Shell Cycle. It wouldn't start for some reason. And Don, being the resident genius, had been rather roughly enlisted to fix the problem. His brothers were hopeless when it came to machines. Mikey didn't care about anything that wasn't a television, Raph had a tendency to believe that punching things was the solution to all life's problems, and Leo frankly couldn't be bothered to learn how a toaster worked, let alone a complicated piece of machinery like a vehicle. Don usually didn't mind, though, it was just that tonight he had something special he was researching that he really wanted to get back to.

Don heard a quiet scuffling sound from behind him, but dismissed it as Raph chasing Mikey around the lair. It wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence.

He started paying attention, though, when he heard a metallic click. He dove to the side as there was a swish and a thunk and suddenly a knife was stuck in the floor right where his foot had been.

"What the shell?" he yelled, jumping up and drawing his bo in one movement. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye but who or whatever it was had dodged behind the armoured BattleShell by the time he had spun to look.

"Hey!" Don shouted. "Who's there?"

"What's going on, Donnie?"

Don turned. "Hey Leo, there's someone back behind the BattleShell," he said in a low voice. "Someone unfriendly."

Leo's eyes narrowed as he saw the knife still embedded in the floor. He drew one of his katanas and crept towards the armoured car. Whoever was throwing knives at his brother was as good as trapped, now; the BattleShell was parked up in the corner of the garage.

He leaped lightly onto the vehicle's roof, and heard a sharp intake of breath.

Out of nowhere, a knife whistled towards his head.

"Leo, look out!"

Leo deflected the blade easily, and caught the flash of dark hair moving for the door.

"Don!"

"On it!"

The bo met its target with a crack and a yelp. Leo flipped to his brother's side and looked down in surprise to see a woman – more a girl, really – staring back at him with a combination of fear and anger on her face.

Don straightened up. "Hey, it's just a kid."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "I ain't a _kid_, greenie. And if you're gonna kill me or somethin' make it quick, I don't got all day."

Don raised an eyebrow ridge. "Excuse me? May I remind you that you're the one trespassing here? In case you'd forgotten, you threw a knife at me!"

She scowled. "Better havin' to start a fight than caught unaware. You gonna kill me or not?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said no. Why do you expect us to kill you?"

"I dunno,"she shrugged, "that's what usually happens when ya get caught in someone else's turf, ain't it? 'Sides," she went on, "the hell he doin' with those freakin' swords if he ain't gonna use 'em to cut people up?" She jerked a thumb towards Leo.

The brothers exchanged a glance. Don had to admit she had a point. It still didn't explain why she had been the one to initiate the fight though.

"What are you doing here?" Leo's voice was rough.

She eyed him warily. "I ain't stealin' nothin'," she retorted defensively.

"Never said you were. I asked what you were doing in our garage."

Her chin jutted out defiantly. "I was just lookin' for a place to crash, didn't realize this spot was taken by a pair of – the hell are you, anyway?" she asked curiously.

"Turtles."

"You're screwin' with me, aren't ya? I mean, I heard of gators in the city, but talking turtles? That's a new one."

"I'm not kidding."

"Huh." She seemed to accept this without another thought. "Well," she huffed, jumping up, "you ain't gonna kill me, I'll just be on my way, then."

"Wait-" Don reached out a hand to stop her. In an instant there was a knife in her hand, and in another Leo's foot flashed out and caught her around the back. She squeaked and crumpled. The knife skittered away under the BattleShell.

Leo looked at the prone figure guiltily. "Oops."

Kneeling down, Don gently touched her neck. "She's got a pulse; you just knocked her out, Leo."

"I didn't think I had enough force behind that to knock someone out."

Don examined the girl more closely. He guessed that she couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen, and she was grimy and stick thin. He sighed. Obviously the kid didn't have any kind of home to go back to. She was in desperate need of a shower and a meal.

He couldn't just leave a homeless kid alone, unconscious, in the garage all night, even if she _had_ tried to turn him into a turtle-kebab. "Leo, we're gonna have to take her back to the lair."

Leo looked at him incredulously. "You're joking. She attacked us, and – "

"And, Leo, you knocked her out. She said she was just looking for a place to sleep, she obviously doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Leo threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "Fine! She's your responsibility then, Donnie. And you're explaining to Master Splinter."

He nodded and picked the girl up carefully.


	2. Chapter 2

"Can we keep her?"

"Mikey, for the last time, _no_, we can't keep her. She's not a pet."

"Aw, c'mon Donnie, I'll take her for walks and everything!"

"Shut it, shell-for-brains, I think she's comin' around."

Four turtles peered curiously at the figure lying on the couch. She groaned, then blinked.

"Damn. Now there's four," she muttered, rubbing her head. "The hell just happened?"

"Hey, Raph, she's got a mouth like you!"

"Shut yours or I'll shut it for you."

"Both of you be quiet!"

The girl sat up suddenly. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"Take it easy," Don said, trying to push her back down. "You just… passed out. You're in our lair. Don't worry, it's safe here."

She stared at him wide-eyed. "Lair?" He voice squeaked. "W-whaddya mean, _lair_? Like in them horror movies? You monsters or something'?"

Raph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the giant talking turtles are just normal people. But the fact that they live in a _lair_, well, then they _must_ be evil!"

Her cheeks coloured. "That ain't what I meant."

Mikey eyed her curiously. "What did you me-"

Leo cut him off. "Only in the broadest sense of the word. Now. You have some explaining to do."

She glared at him indignantly. "Like you don't? Of all the…"

"Hey! Do you want our help or not?"

"I never asked for your damn help!" She had jumped up, balling her fists. Leo immediately reached for his swords.

"Guys, wait!" Don held out his hands imploringly. "Leo, back off. She has a right to be angry; we did bring her here against her will. And…uh…you, you've probably got a concussion so sit back down. We understand that you're scared –"

"I ain't scared!"

"-but we're looking after you so we deserve some answers. Now sit down and stop threatening my brothers."

She glared at him for a minute, then, judging his words true, sat back down on the couch with a huff.

"Fine. I'll answer your stinkin' questions." She crossed her arms.

Raph laughed. "I like this kid. She's got spunk."

Her lip twitched. Don took this as an encouraging sign. He decided it was probably best to start off slow. "So, uh, what's your name?"

The girl flipped her ponytail arrogantly. "Frankie Cutler."

Mikey sniggered.

"Think there's something funny 'bout my name, Orange?"

"Well, yeah! Who calls a girl 'Frankie'?"

"S'called a nickname, dumbass."

"For what?"

"Francesca." She rolled her eyes as well as the _r_. "Stupid name. Too long and frilly."

Raph smirked. "Orangey here shouldn't be talking, eh, Michelangelo?"

"Hey!"

Frankie Cutler grinned too. "Sweet, I ain't the only one with a stupid Italian name!"

"_Hey!_"

Everyone except Mikey laughed. The latter crossed his arms and pouted.

"At least I'm not an _angel_, Raphael. Ooh, look at me, I wear a dress and have white feathery wings! Ooh! O-ouch!"

Leo pinched the ridge between his eyes in exasperation as Mikey and Raph rolled around on the floor. Frankie watched with amusement.

"They're nuts," she stated appreciatively.

"Don't need to tell me."

She treated Don to a lopsided grin. "You got a funny name too, Purple?"

Don had to smile back. "I'm Donatello. That's my brother, Leonardo."

"I see the family resemblance."

He chuckled.

"So, Frankie," Leo began, "what were you doing in our garage alone at night?"

"I _told_ ya already, Leonardo. I was just lookin' for somewhere to crash for a coupla days. Then when Purple and Red there showed up, I figgered I was in someone's place and I'd better get outta there quick 'fore they got me. But man," she looked at Don in awe; "I ain't never seen someone dodge my knife like that. You got skills, Purple, I'll give you that."

Don rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well," he muttered.

Mikey had shaken off Raph and came running up, doing a flip over the couch and plopping down beside a surprised Frankie. "That's because we're awesome!" he proclaimed. "We're ninjas!" He did a showy punch in demonstration.

Frankie tensed. "Ninjas?" She eyed him suspiciously, unconsciously rubbing her left wrist. "You with the Foot?"

"The Foot? How do you know about them?"

She scowled. "Had a coupla run-ins with 'em. You on their side?"

"No. They're our enemies."

Frankie relaxed visibly, slouching down into the sofa and stretching. "Well, any enemies of the Foot're friends of mine."

Don watched her, pondering her reaction. When Mikey mentioned the word 'ninja', she'd looked positively terrified. He wondered what could warrant such a reaction from the girl. It was obvious to him that she wasn't telling them something; he could also see that she wouldn't react well if he tried to pry it out of her. Talking to her gave him the unnerving feeling of a female Raph.

Leo apparently hadn't made that observation yet. "Why were you alone?" he pressed. "Shouldn't you be with someone older?"

Her mood abruptly darkened again. Don noted her stormy expression and quickly took a step back. Mikey looked from Leo to Frankie and back to Leo.

"Someone _older_? _Excuse_ me? Who the hell do you think you are? I'm a damn adult, I can take care of myself, you overgrown aquarium reject!"

Leo backed up, hands in the air. "I just meant, someone your age-"

"Someone _my_ age? You don't even freakin' know how old I am, don't start givin' me a bullshit lecture about how I oughta have someone lookin' out fer me; there ain't nobody, and I don't _need _nobody, got it?"

"But I-"

"You what? You 'got my best interests at heart', or 'it's for my own good'? I gotta newsflash for ya, Blue, I heard it all before and then some. I'm old enough to take care of myself, I don't need people like you tellin' me what to do with my life! So shut it."

Raph had to admit he was kinda enjoying seeing a kid – a girl, no less – giving Leo a piece of her mind like that. Even better was the fact that his perfect brother was hardly able to get a word in edgewise. Kid had a set of lungs in her.

Leo was getting angry. Finally, he lost his cool and shouted "Fine! I'm sorry, okay, no need to bite my head off!"

The tension was so thick Mikey thought he should be able to sit on it.

After glaring a moment, Frankie exhaled loudly. "Eh, sorry, Leonardo. Age is kinda a touchy subject for me."

Mikey cocked his head to one side. "How old are you then?"

"Nineteen."

Mikey fell off of the couch.

"Dude! I thought you were, like, thirteen or something!"

She frowned. "Yeah, I get that a lot." When Leo tried to apologize, she waved it off. "Nah, it's good, I kinda overreacted."

"No kiddin'" Raph muttered under his breath.

Frankie didn't hear him, and continued: "It's just a lot ta take in, y'know? I mean, I spend all day – uh, lookin' for, uh, a spot to chill, and I finally find this warehouse but it's full of cars and shit and then you guys show up, and…"

"Yeah, we are pretty intimidating."

She laughed. "You ain't, Michelangelo." She pronounced his name Mike-langlo.

"Just call me Mikey." He stopped suddenly. "Hey, what do you mean, I'm not intimidating?"

She just grinned sarcastically. "Nothin' at all."

Mikey scowled for a minute.

Don broke in. "Frankie, would you like to stay here for the rest of the night? I mean, you were looking for somewhere safe, right? You're not going to get better than the lair."

"Donnie, what're you doing?" Raph hissed. "We barely even know her!"

"Oh come on, Raph, you're scared of a girl?"

"I ain't scared, and you know it."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Uh, look, guys, I don't wanna be an issue."

"It's not a problem," Leo assured her quickly.

Frankie was eyeing Raph apprehensively. "Not so sure I believe you, Blue."

"It's Leo."

"Whatever. I'll just go kip up in that warehouse."

Mikey was aghast. "Wait, you're gonna just sleep on the _floor_?" He scrunched up his face at just the thought of lying on the concrete floor."

"Well, yeah," Frankie responded, giving Mikey a look that said plainly, Are you stupid?

"We'll at least give you a pillow and some blankets."

"You don't have to-"

"Drop it," Leo advised, "Once Donnie sets his mind on something it's really hard to get him off it."

Frankie accepted the proffered blanket shyly. "Well, uh, thanks." Then she smiled happily. "Thanks!"

-x-

Geeze, they wouldn't shut up this chapter. More coming soon, don't worry!

Special thanks to TMNT Redneck, for being the first person to review chapter one, and

Poisoned Dark Angel, whose review I just saw now; I shall definitely take your considerations to heart and a more thorough response will be forthcoming ;)

It's very gratifying and inspiring to see people actually reading what I write. I love reviews, if the hint was too subtle there.


	3. Chapter 3

Frankie sat in the corner of the garage, the scratchy wool blanket draped loosely around her shoulders. She shivered once and cursed quietly when the motion made her head throb. Gettin' knocked out always hurts more once you got time to think about it, she thought. Then again, lotsa stuff's like that.

Frankie supposed she should have been more surprised by the turtles – really, giant freakin' _turtles_, for cryin' out loud! – but she'd seen enough growing up in the streets that stuff like that just didn't get to her any more. Turtles, though. Not much scary about a turtle, even if they _were_ ninjas. Now, them sewer crocs, they'd make scary ninjas. Or, like, an alleycat or somethin'.

She wasn't sure if she believed in sewer crocs. I mean, you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that keeping a croc as a pet was a good idea. Frankie'd never seen a croc. She imagined them to be huge, scaly killing machines. You never heard anything good about a sewer croc, after all. Or a gator. She wondered briefly what the difference was between a croc and a gator, then dismissed the thought, deciding they were probably the same anyway.

Shaking her head a little, forgetting about the headache, Frankie told herself to stop bein' stupid. Doesn't matter 'bout crocs, there's definitely sewer turtles. She liked them. But she wondered what would happen tomorrow. She hadn't had friends in a long time and thought that maybe they could be friends. She liked the purple one, and the orange one was okay too. The blue one, Leo, she wasn't so sure about. She was still pissed at him for thinking she was a kid. And the red one was kinda scary. Though she had liked his weapons, some kind of pronged knife… yeah, she really wanted to get her hands on those. The fingers on her right hand twitched in anticipation.

Laying the blanket out carefully, almost reverently, she curled up on her side, pillowing her head on her right arm and holding her left hand close to her chest. She closed her eyes.

Leo awoke to the smell of coffee. He yawned and stretched before heading sleepily into the kitchen where Don was already sitting at the table tinkering with something.

"Hey Donnie."

A nod.

Leo paused, pouring a cup of coffee, then: "Do you really think it was a good idea to let that girl stay in the garage last night?"

Don gave him a look. "Leo, give it a rest. Would you have preferred forcing her to stay here? Or maybe turning her out on the street? We're not monsters, Leo, you said it yourself. Besides, chances are she's long gone anyway."

Leo raised an eye ridge. "What makes you say that?"

Don shook his head. "People like that rarely stay in one place too long. We'd be nomadic, too, in that sense, if we didn't have the sewers. She doesn't fit in." He stared into his coffee mug.

Leo didn't respond, but he looked closely at his pacifist brother. Clearly Don had seen something in Frankie that the rest of them had missed. He smiled slightly. Don could get caught up in his blueprints, but he was good at reading people, when he tried. And he always believed the best in everyone, a trait he shared with Mikey.

He'd just opened his mouth to say something when he heard a crash and a muffled "M'okay!"

Mikey stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing one eye blearily. Leo eyed him critically.

"What did you break?"

Mikey stuck his tongue out. "Nothing. I tripped." He took in Don and Leo's sceptical expressions. "What?"

Leo shook his head and Don smiled. "World's clumsiest ninja."

Mikey pouted for another minute or so. Then, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

Mikey was busy rummaging in the fridge. "Where's my pizza?"

"Raph finished it last night."

"WHAT?" Mikey screeched. "Why would he do that to me!"

Don rolled his eyes. "Geeze, Mikey, calm down, it's just pizza."

"Just pizza! That was not _just a pizza_! That was a Hawaiian pizza with a perfect ham-to-pineapple ratio, a crust of ideal thickness, and just exactly the right amount of tomato sauce!" Mikey bemoaned his horrible misfortune. "Why do bad things always happen to me?" he cried.

"Give it a rest, Mikey," Leo sighed tiredly.

"Mikey," Don started, trying to get his brother's mind off the pizza, "why don't you go check if Frankie's still in the garage? We should offer her breakfast."

Mikey brightened up immediately. "Awesome, I totally forgot about her. Be right back," he called, sprinting towards the elevator.

Frankie was poking around at a motorcycle she'd found in the garage last night. She remembered Purple working on it and decided that she may as well take a look. She'd run with some kids with bikes for a while, and thought she had a pretty good handle on how the things worked. She was just about to check the engine when-

"AACK!"

She jumped back, hissing in surprise at the girly scream. The orange turtle had appeared from the wall with a look of horror on his face. Frankie tensed, searching for the cause. The Foot?

She was a little confused when the turtle leaped over to the bike. "What did you do to it? What did you do?"

She frowned. "Nothin', I was just checkin' it out…"

"Aw, man, Raph's gonna think I was messing with it, why'd you go and do that?"

"I didn't do _nothin'_," Frankie insisted, a little annoyed. "There's somethin' wrong with it, I was just lookin'."

Mikey finally seemed to hear her. "So… you didn't break it?"

Frankie scowled. "_No_."

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause.

"Do you want breakfast?"

Frankie blinked. "Huh?"

Mikey stared at her like she was an idiot. "Breakfast. Y'know, food. D'you want some?"

"Uh…"

"Of course you do!" Mikey grabbed her by the wrist and started towing her to the elevator. "I make a mean omelette, you know. Leo only likes cheese in his, though, which is _sooo_ boring. I like mine with all kinds of stuff, bacon and onions and pepperoni, yum! I want to try marshmallows but Leo won't let me. Boring, like I said." Mikey chattered away while Frankie just stared. Damn, she thought, he don't ever shut up!

Mikey was still talking as he dragged Frankie into the kitchen, deposited her at the table, and went to rummage through cupboards.

Raph, who had materialized in the kitchen at some point, grumbled, "Shut up, Mike, s'too early to talk that much."

"Actually, we're usually up much earlier for training," Leo pointed out. Raph just glared at him.

"Training?" Frankie piped up. "Trainin' what?"

"Ourselves. Practising the art of ninjitsu."

"The what-now?"

"Ninjitsu," Leo said again, frowning a little.

"Oh." Frankie thought about that. "That a fancy way of sayin' ninja?"

Raph smirked. "Pretty much."

Leo glared at him. "Actually, it's-"

"Whatever." Frankie said dismissively. "Why ain't you trainin',if that's what you usually do?"

Leo looked guilty. Raph replied, "Master Splinter's not here right now, so we, uh, decided to take a little break."

Leo sighed. "We really _should _be practising; Master Splinter said to keep training while he was away."

"No one's stopping you, Leo," Don pointed out.

"Yeah," Mikey agreed, handing out plates of scrambled eggs. "Unlike you, though, the rest of us actually have lives." He snickered at his own joke, pausing to high-three Raph.

Frankie stared at the plate she was handed, hardly able to believe her eyes. When was the last time she had eggs? Or any kind of hot food, for that matter? It'd definitely been a while.

Don caught her hesitation. "Frankie." She looked up. "Go ahead and eat."

She didn't need more prompting than that, and started shovelling the eggs into her mouth.

Mikey's mouth had dropped open, Raph was frozen with a forkful hovering between his plate and his mouth, and Leo was watching in disbelief. In seven seconds flat the plate was empty.

"Damn!" Frankie licked her lips. "That was friggin' good! My complements to the chef," she added with a nod to Mikey.

Mikey's jaw was still hanging dangerously close to the floor. Raph had recovered enough to reach over and shut it – rather forcefully.

"Ow!"

Frankie seemed unperturbed by the stares she was getting, and sighed contentedly, rocking her chair onto its two back legs. "Y'know, you guys got a sick place here," she observed. "I'm diggin' the epic TV setup over there." She jutted her chin towards the stack of TVs.

"Oh. Em. Gee." Mikey looked like he'd suddenly had the best idea in the history of all ideas – which it was, of course. He jumped up. "You are _so_ playing Mario Kart with me!"

"Excuse me?"

"Mario Kart! C'monc'mon'cmonc'mon! You have to play Mario Kart with me!" Mikey hauled Frankie over to the couch. Frankie resisted slightly; she was getting sick of being dragged around by a giant turtle.

Mikey flitted around, turning on his Wii, and throwing controllers in Frankie's direction.

"Ouch!" she complained.

"Shush!"

Finally, he plopped down beside her. "And now… we play!" he said dramatically.

Frankie looked at the white bar in her hand. "The hell do I do with this?" She held it up awkwardly.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "You use it to steer. Duh."

"Steer?"

By this point Don and Raph had appeared to watch - Leo was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes. Raph crossed his arms, leaning in the doorway. "I'm pretty sure this is cheatin' or something. I doubt she's ever played Mario Kart before."

"Aw, don't ruin my fun, Raph! S'not like you ever play with me!"

"Mikey, that's 'cause you're a huge pain in the shell when you win."

"Or lose," Don added.

"Hate to interrupt," Frankie broke in, "But I still don't have a clue what to do with this friggin' thing."

Don couldn't help laughing at the completely bemused expression on the girl's face.

"Oh shut up."

_A/N: Ugh, sorrysorrysorry! Took me way longer to get this up than I was expecting… hey, I've got twenty minutes to spare… plus it's a crappy chapter. It just wasn't working for me. Next one will be better, I promise! In any case, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed; Laughter's Tears, Zero thew Noob, Shell (BubblyShell22), TMNT Redneck, and especially Mary (Mikell); you all made my day, so thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4

"Please?"

"No."

"_Pleeeeeeeease_?"

"_No_."

"Aw, why not?"

Frankie shot Mikey a baleful glance. "I ain't never gonna touch one of those things again as long as I live. No way. Ain't happenin'."

"But no one else will play with me!" Mikey whined.

"I ain't playin' with ya either, Orange."

"Serves you right, Mikey," Leo admonished. "You were kind of…"

"An ass?" Raph supplied.

Frankie smirked. "'Ass' might work, I was thinkin' somethin' else."

Raph grinned and gave the girl a high-three.

A moment later Mikey had tackled Raph, and a full-out wrestle match ensued. Raph almost had the orange-banded turtle pinned, until Mikey did a twist and a flip and leapt across the room. Frustrated, Raph pulled out his sais, twirling one around his hand. Mikey's response was to grab his nunchakus.

"Stop!"

Both turtles straightened up, looking over to where Don had emerged from his lab. "Geeze, guys, I'm trying to _work_, can you keep it-" he stopped suddenly.

"You guys really are ninjas, huh?" Frankie's voice was small and sounded terrified. She was white and visibly shaken, sitting on the couch and picking at the fabric wrapped around her left wrist. "You're really ninjas."

Don was suddenly there, and said in a low voice, "We told you that last night."

She just nodded. "Yeah-"she drew in a shaky breath – "It's somethin' else to see it in action though." She shuddered.

"What are you scared of?"

Her eyes flickered to Leo then back to the wrap. She stared very intently at a ragged thread. There was a long silence.

"The Foot." It was barely a whisper.

Leo and Raph shared a glance.

Frankie swallowed and continued, in a slightly louder voice, "I ain't scared of much, y'know, but… them crazy ninjas… you can't fight 'em. They just…vanish."

"Okay, hold up a second," Leo interrupted. "Why were _you_ fighting the Foot?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Mikey bounced up and down excitedly. "I bet I know why! I bet you're secretly Shredder's cousin's daughter-in-law thrice removed who holds the heart of Tengu in a mysterious jade necklace that glows during the fourth full moon of the sixteenth year!***** Am I right? Tell me I'm right!"

Raph smacked him across the back of the head and muttered "That's the stupidest thing I have _ever_ heard, Mikey, even comin' from you."

Frankie just gaped at him. Leo stared in disbelief while Don clutched his sides laughing.

"The hell…?" Frankie muttered, still confused.

"Well, fine then," Mikey grouched, "what's the _real _story?"

Frankie turned bright pink.

"Dudette," Mikey snickered, "Are you blushing?"

"It's kinda… embarrassing."

"We're related to Mikey. We can handle embarrassing."

"Hey!"

"It's a long story…"

"I don't have anything better to do, since you won't play Mario Kart with me."

Frankie looked at all of them, desperately trying to come up with an excuse. She drew a blank, though, and sighed, resigning herself to the story. She took a deep breath, and began:

"Well, see, I used to run with a bike gang-"

Mikey sniggered. "You were a biker? I thought bikers were supposed to be scary, not scrawny little-"

"You really wanna finish that, Orange?" Frankie glared at him. "'Sides," she added, rolling her eyes, "It wasn't a real gang, just a bunch of rich punks who thought they'd get their kicks hangin' with the real street kids. They were a buncha pansies. But they had sick bikes. Oh, by the way," she looked at Don, "I think there's somethin' wrong with the fuel injector on that bike you was workin' on yesterday."

Don slapped his forehead. "Of course! I can't believe I didn't think to check that."

"You and me both, braniac," Raph added, shaking his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's official: Raph's an idiot."

"You were, saying, Frankie?" Leo interjected loudly, trying to bring his brothers' attention back to the story.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Well, anyway, like I said, there were five of these older rich kids and a bunch of us younger ones, and for some reason we was always tryin' to get in with 'em, don't really remember why now, seems real stupid when I think about it.

"So we were just bummin' around, y'know, spookin' the old ladies walkin' outta the grocery store and tryin' to get them to give us money, just usual stuff, when one of the big guys, called himself Roger, decided that we gotta do more than lookin' tough and pickin' pockets and stuff. Guess he was bored."

"Wait, you're a thief?" Leo asked, looking wary.

Frankie just looked at him. "Hey, man, don't judge me like that, there ain't no other way to get by. When you ain't got a home and you ain't a part of one of them big organized gangs, you wanna eat, you gotta take it from someone. I tried the whole 'bein' good' thing, didn't get me anywhere. In the streets, you gotta learn to take what you want, otherwise you're never gonna get it."

Silence greeted her words. While none of the turtles thought that what she was talking about was _right_, they couldn't tell her that she should have starved before stealing.

Frankie suddenly grinned proudly. "I'm a real good pickpocket," she bragged. "I'm small and quick, I don't never get caught."

"You know, Frankie, that isn't really the best thing to be sharing." Don pointed out.

She shrugged. "I ain't gonna take anythin' from you, if that's what you're worryin' about."

"Why should we believe that?"

"Look, Leo, I don't got much. I got my knives and my clothes and I got my honour. I ain't petty, I only take what I need and I don't take nothin' from people who help me. And God knows there's enough who don't. When someone does, I ain't gonna screw it up by takin' their stuff.

"So, anyway, Roger and them other rich kids decided that we should start actin' more like a gang, and he said we had to sneak into some building and steal some stuff. Y'know that big skyscraper with the little Chinese house on top?

Leo stiffened. "It's called a pagoda, and that one is Japanese."

"Whatever," Frankie said dismissively. "Y'know what I mean. It's, like, one of the biggest buildings in the city. And the guy that owns it"-her face darkened- "is stinkin' rich. We used to like to joke around about what he got in there. It's kinda funny. I used to spend a lotta time talkin' about that thing. Now I don't even like to think about it.

"So, Roger and some of the other rich brats started schemin'. Wouldn't let the rest of us in on the plan, and I didn't really care anyway. Damn, I was so stupid! Can't believe I let those assholes control me like that."

"Let me guess," Don said. "You tried to break into the Shredder's headquarters."

"Didn't just try, we succeeded."

"What? How?" Don couldn't believe what he was hearing. It wasn't exactly easy to sneak into a building swarming with ninjas.

Frankie gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Damned if I know. Stupid rich kids did some tech-y stuff and got us in. Course, they prob'ly weren't expectin' the welcomin' committee. We didn't get very far."

There was a long pause while Frankie stared ahead, reliving the memory. Her face was murderous. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and she said every word evenly, like she was trying to keep from jumping up and killing someone. The turtles didn't realize how close to that point she really was.

"They ran. Bastards. All them rich kids, as soon as they saw the Foot ninjas in there, they all just cut and left. Some of the others split too. Y'know, it was real stupid trustin' them rich bastards, but, damn, we were just kids. Thought we had loyalty and all that shit. But when it came down to it, it was just me and two other kids. We tried to fight 'em off, but what can three kids do against them Foot, right? They're too damn fast. Anyway, they grabbed us, and brought us to the guy that owned the place, all suited up in an outfit like a giant cheese grater or somethin'."

"The Shredder," Mikey whispered.

Frankie nodded. "Yeah."

"Why'd they bring a buncha kids to the Shredder?" Raph asked curiously. "You'd think the Foot'd just take care of you themselves."

Frankie shrugged. "I think they thought we were up ta somethin'. Doubt they ever had street kids breakin' into their buildin' before, they probably thought we was, like, the FBI or somethin'. Sure as hell didn't believe me when I told 'em we was just goin' for kicks." She shuddered and rubbed at her wrist absentmindedly.

After a moment, Don prompted, "And? What happened?"

"Killed my buddies. Almost killed me."

There was a stunned silence. Then Mikey shook his head. "Man, I knew the Shredder was an evil dude, but…"

Leo was livid. "There's no excuse for murdering children!" Raph had his sais clenched in his hands and even Don looked angry.

Frankie almost smiled at their reaction. "Good ta know I'm not the only one who has problems with that."

"Uh, not to be, like, offensive or anything," Mikey rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But why didn't he kill you? OW!" he added when Raph slapped him across the back of the head.

"Knucklehead," he muttered.

Don looked thoughtful. "Actually, Raph, that's a valid question. It's not like the Shredder to just leave his victims alive. He must have had something planned."

"He did."

"What?"

"I said he did. He didn't just let me go." She suddenly got defensive. "I told him 'bout Roger and them others. I didn't wanna die like the other kids and I was scared and…and s'not like he left me all fine'n'dandy, either. I hadta tell him!"

"What happened?"

"Y'know that crazy knife thing he got on his hand? Well, he told me 'bout some place –dunno what it was called, I wasn't real concerned 'bout that part – where if you're caught stealing they cut off your left hand."

Four sets of eyes flickered to where Frankie's hands rested in her lap.

"He said he thought that was a good idea and that more places should be doin' it. But, since I never actually took nothin' and he wanted to make me an example or somethin', he didn't cut it off… just screwed it up enough to make me wish he had. Then his ninja freaks – erm, no offence – threw me in an alley downtown and left."

Leo looked sick.

Frankie looked around at all of them. "I never told anyone that story. Not even Roger and the gang, though they was askin' what happened after the Foot dumped me in our old hangout." She thought about it for a second. "Don't seem as bad when I say it out loud."

"It doesn't sound bad." Leo echoed disbelievingly, shaking his head slowly.

Frankie shrugged. "I mean, at least I survived right? Coulda…coulda been worse."

She grinned suddenly. "So, Leo, t'answer your question, I ain't…what was it… holdin' the heart of Pingu or whatever Mikey said. I'm just a street kid. Or, y'know, if you're an 'upstandin' citizen', I'm just a huge pain in the ass."

"That's…optimistic."

Frankie just grinned ruefully. "Gotta be, Otherwise I'da been dead a long time ago."

Mikey looed thoughtful for a moment, then blurted out, "So, who wants to play Mario Kart with me?"

"Oh, _hell_ no!"

Raph rolled his eyes. "I dunno why you even bother askin' anymore, Mike."

Mikey stuck out his tongue.

"Optimism, dear brother. You should try it sometime."

-x-

_A/N: Hey-ya! So, what'd you think? I hope it wasn't too lame, just sticking everything out there like that, but I really wanted Frankie to tell her story, so she did. I really like this chapter, personally. I had fun writing it. And, to be honest, I love writing as Frankie; we have completely opposite personalities so it's fun for me to be someone else for a while. Anyway, extra-special thanks to __**TMNT Redneck, Laughter's Tears, Mikell, **__and __**BubblyShell2**__, as always, for the reviews __. You guys rock! For those of you I didn't mention…next time, review! _

_PS, if anyone can guess where Roger's name came from, you win…well, everything. It's a pretty obscure reference. You will win my everlasting respect and admiration, how 'bout that?_

*This exceptionally awesome quote was borrowed from the one, the only, Mikell! Thanks again for letting me use it.


	5. Chapter 5

"Um, Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

Mikey scrunched his face up. "When was the last time you had a shower, dudette? I mean, you kinda reek."

"Mikey!" Leo hissed, offended by his brother's lack of manners.

"What? It's totally a valid question! She stinks worse than the sewer does!"

Leo groaned.

Frankie sniffed at her armpit. "Heh, yeah, I guess I kinda do stink, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Uh, do you guys got a bathroom or somethin'?"

"What do you think we are, cave people? Of course we have a bathroom."

Frankie raised her hands in defense. "Hey, I never been in a giant turtle sewer hangout. I dunno what to expect 'round here. Cut me some slack, willya?"

Don smiled. "Fair enough. The shower's through there," he said, pointing. "Uh, do you have a change of clothes?"

Frankie stared at him. "What are ya, crazy? Where the hell would I get new clothes from?"

"From a store," Mikey said slowly. "Obviously."

Frankie gave him a look. "Yeah, great idea, Mikey. I'll just go walkin' into a Wal-Mart or somethin', I'm sure they won't get suspicious. Hell, man, they don't like kids like me in there. Think I'm gonna rob them."

Raph raised an eyebrow ridge. "Wouldn't ya?"

She had a thoughtful expression. "Well… yeah, maybe. Only if I could get away with it though, I ain't stupid, and only if I didn't have any money. I know what it's like not bein' able to pay for nothin', I don't really wanna make someone lose their job or nothin'. That ain't fair."

Leo listened to this with a slightly surprised expression on his face. The only other "street kids", as Frankie called herself, that he had met were members of the Purple Dragons or other gangs. They didn't put much stock in the welfare of others. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he had a hard time understanding Frankie Cutler.

"April," Don said out of nowhere.

"Come again?"

Don's face lit up the way it always did when he figured something out. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before! We'll have April bring you some clothes."

"Uh, not for nothin', but exactly who the hell is April?"

Mikey grinned. "She's a friend of ours, I bet you'll like her."

Frankie wasn't exactly sure she wanted to meet someone who was friends with four giant sewer turtles. They couldn't exactly be, well, _normal_. Maybe this April was, like, a mutant cat or something? Or a pigeon? That's make sense. Or not.

Well, she thought, ain't really worth worryin' about.

She took a step towards the bathroom, then suddenly stood up straight and yelled "Oh shit!"

The four turtles looked at her with varying expressions of amusement and disapproval.

"What?"

Frankie spun around and pointed at Mikey. "You!"

Mikey squeaked. "Huh?"

Frankie marched over to where Mikey was standing. Looking a little alarmed, Mikey backed up a step or two before Frankie rolled her eyes at him. "Chill, turtle-man. I gotta go back up to that warehouse. How exactly do I get there?"

Leo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

Frankie threw him a look over her shoulder. "'Cause, I gotta get my stuff."

Raph snorted. "You have 'stuff'?" he asked derisively.

Frankie scowled at him. "I got a bag with some stuff, you got a problem, Red?"

Raph didn't respond.

"So," Frankie said as she turned back to Mikey. "Show me the way, Mike."

Mikey looked, wide-eyed, at Leo for approval. Leo just nodded once and Mikey relaxed. "Right this way, madam," he said in a grave voice, bowing and pretending to hold open the door of the elevator. Frankie grinned and marched in.

"Well ain't that fancy."

Raph followed her in, and in a few seconds all four turtles and one girl were standing were standing in the elevator.

Frankie raised her eyebrows but decided not to say anything.

When the elevator doors opened into the garage, Frankie immediately ran over to where Don had discovered her the night before. Sighing in relief, she bent over and grabbed a grungy-looking duffel bag – It used to be green, but years of use had turned it a nasty mouldy brown colour.

Mikey squinted. "Eeeewwww…"

Raph grimaced. "For once, Mikey, I'm gonna hafta agree with you."

Frankie heard their exchange and scowled at them. "Hey, don't be hatin' on my bag! It's kinda old, I've had it forever. But it works alright. Better not be anythin' missin'…" she mumbled, quickly checking over the contents. Everything seemed to be accounted for, except…

Frankie whirled around and looked at Leo. "Where's my knife?"

"What?"

Frankie looked almost frantic. "My butterfly, where is it? I thought it was in my bag but it ain't there, 'cause I had it when you knocked me out and… where _is _it?"

Leo was alarmed by the panic in Frankie's voice. She ran over to where Leo had kicked her and searched the ground hurriedly. The turtles watched, slightly confused. Mikey scratched his head. "Uh, why're you looking for a butterfly? Wouldn't it have, like, flown away?"

Raph smacked the back of Mikey's head. "Idiot, she's lookin' for a knife."

"But I thought she said-"

Leo cut in. "Honestly, Mikey, don't you listen to _anything_ Master Splinter says? It's a balisong."

"Gesundheit,"Mikey said.

Leo rolled his eyes. "It's a folding knife, Mikey."

"Oh."

"Ha!" Frankie leaped up. "Got it!" She flipped the knife around her wrist and the blade snapped shut. She sighed happily. "Man, if I'd lost this…" her voice trailed off.

The four turtles gathered around her for a better look. The handles were fairly thin, originally silvery in colour. They were tarnished and scratched and Raph thought that it, frankly, looked like a piece of crap. He told Frankie so.

Her eyes flashed angrily. "This ain't a piece of junk, Red. S'my prized possession. And-" she flicked it back open and held it in front of his eyes – "it works pretty damn well."

Raph swore and knocked her hand away. She smirked, keeping a firm grasp on the knife handle.

Frankie moved off to collect the knife that was still lodged in the floor near Raph's cycle. Don noted that she didn't have quite the same attachment to this one, as she merely flicked it shut and stuck it in the back pocket of her tattered jeans. Then, sauntering back over, she grabbed the duffel bag and stuck out her hip. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

She gave a lopsided grin. "Thought you offered me a shower. Am I gonna get it or not?"

Leo shook his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath.

-x-

_A/N So, whattya think? I don't have much to say about this one… only to review, otherwise I'll set Frankie on you! Muahahaha! *cough* Ahem. Anyway._

_Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers, __**Mikell**__, __**TMNT Redneck**__, __**Laughter's Tears**__, and a new one, __**TMNTgirl**__! You guys make me happy whenever I get your reviews, so keep it up! _

_For those of you wondering, Roger came from the novel _Tex_, by S. E. Hinton (which I thoroughly recommend for any fans of _The Outsiders_). He had a reputation for being mean and his big expensive Honda motorcycle. So yeah. Really random reference._

_Anyway, see ya next time!_


	6. Chapter 6

Frankie sighed happily and, closing her eyes, leaned her head back. The water ran down her face and back, and she loved it. She hadn't had a shower in weeks, and then it was just at the shelter downtown, where the warm water only lasted three and a half minutes and came out of the tap in rust-coloured hiccups. The shower in the turtle's lair was amazing. The water was clean, there was consistent pressure and, best of all, she had been in there for a good half hour, and the water was still hot.

Frankie let herself daydream, watching soap suds –actual soap! – swirling on the shower floor. The hot water felt really good on her wrist; it had been acting up lately. She squished her toes through the soapy foam, thinking about that night with the Foot, and telling the turtles. She couldn't believe it had been less than twenty-four hours since she'd crept into the decrepit old warehouse looking for a place to spend the night safely. Being a girl, and small, it wasn't good to be out in the streets downtown alone, especially at night. She'd had more than one close call and wasn't eager for a repeat.

She jumped suddenly when someone started banging on the bathroom door.

"C'mon, Frankie!" Mikey's whine filtered through the sound of the shower water. "Are you _done_ yet?"

Frankie blew out a big breath. "Yeah, Mikey, keep your shell on, I'm comin'." She turned off the water regretfully and grabbed a fluffy towel from where she had dumped it on the floor. She quickly dried herself off, wringing out her hair, then stopped suddenly.

"Uh, Mikey? Where's my clothes?"

"Huh?" came the confused reply.

"My _clothes_, Orange, where the hell are they?"

Mikey's voice sounded amused and Frankie fought back the desire to punch something. "Oh, Donny grabbed 'em so he could wash them for you."

Frankie stomped across the room, holding the towel tightly around herself, and yelled through the door, "You _took _my clothes? While I was in the _shower_?"

Mikey fell back in surprise at her screech sounding from immediately on the other side of the door. "I didn't, it was Donny!"

"That's supposed to be _better_?"

"Sheesh, Frankie, take it down a few octaves!"

"_Mikey_! _Get me some clothes_!"

"Okayokay!" Mikey flew away from the door. Geeze, that girl had an attitude, he thought as he looked for his bo-wielding brother. He didn't find Don in his lab or his room, so decided to take a more direct approach to the problem. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and yelled out "_Donnnnn-nyyyyyyyyy_!"

There was a crash from the dojo.

"_What_?"

Mikey flipped into the dojo door to find Don flat on his shell and a smirking Raph. He guffawed.

"Oh, shut up, Mikey," Don grumbled. "You distracted me."

He straightened up and grabbed his bo. "What do you want, Mike?"

"Oh, right! Well, Frankie the Ferocious wants her clothes back."

Raph blinked. "Frankie the Ferocious?"

Mikey nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Man, didn't you hear her screaming at me? She's scary!"

"You're a wuss, Mikey."

"Am not!"

"Guys!" Don interrupted. He shook his head and turned to Mikey. "April's bringing her some old clothes to borrow. I think Frankie's clothes are going to need to, um, soak for a while."

Mikey looked apprehensive. "Well, _I'm_ not gonna tell her that! She'll rip my head off with her bare hands!" Mikey flailed his arms around in emphasis.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, Mikey, she ain't a dragon. I can't believe you're afraid of a girl."

Mikey stiffened. "I am _not_ afraid of her!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

All three turtles jumped when they heard a loud banging sound from the general area of the bathroom. Mikey yelped and leapt behind Raph, who smacked him across the back of the head.

"Not scared, huh?"

Mikey just stuck his tongue out childishly, then said, "Fine, Raph, _you_ go tell her we don't have her clothes."

Raph just snorted and sauntered over to the bathroom door.

Frankie was getting angry. She'd been standing there in nothing but a towel for a good five minutes and was thoroughly annoyed. She guessed that Mikey had forgotten what he was supposed to be doing – or at least needed some encouragement to hurry up. Holding the towel in place with her arm, she pounding on the bathroom door with her fist.

"Hey, Mikey! Where are my clothes? C'mon, hurry it up, Mikey! HEY!"

She was steadily beating on the door when someone hit back. It was so unexpected that she froze with her fist raised.

Whoever was on the other side of the door hit it again – hard – before saying, in an accent that matched Frankie's own, "Keep it down, willya?"

Frankie tried to identify the voice. She knew it wasn't Mikey or the purple one, Don… he didn't have a Brooklyn accent and his voice was a lot milder than this one. So that left her with Leo, the blue one, and… the other one. The red one. It must have been the red one; she didn't think Leo had the accent either. What was the red one's name? She thought for a minute before deciding it really didn't matter.

"Where. Are. My. Clothes." She hissed the words.

She could practically hear his eyes rolling when Red replied, "Donny's got Leo washin' 'em for ya. Stop freakin' out already."

"In case you'd forgotten, I'm _naked_ right now! I _want_ some clothes!"

Mikey giggled uncontrollably at this, and didn't stop even when Raph slapped the back of his head.

"Why don't you go do something useful, for once, Mikey," Raph growled.

The orange-banded turtle just walked off, clutching his sides and still snickering.

Don exhaled loudly. "Just wait a few minutes, Frankie, April's bringing over some clothes for you to borrow."

Dark muttering could be heard from behind the bathroom door, though the turtles couldn't make out the words. Which was probably a good thing, Don reflected.

Frankie was pacing around, anxious to get dressed and beat the crap out of Mikey. Why, exactly, had he made her get out of the shower if she was just going to be stuck in a towel anyway? She ground her teeth together in frustration. Not only was she royally pissed, but she was bored, now, to boot.

Frankie spotted a mirror on the wall above the sink and looked at it thoughtfully. She tied a knot in the towel, giving it a light tug to be sure it would stay put, and stood in front of the mirror.

It had been a while since she looked at herself, but nothing really had changed. She stared into her own eyes. They were a nondescript brown. She had always wanted green eyes. Green was her favourite colour. Maybe that's why she liked the turtles. Excepting Mikey, for the moment. She loved green. There wasn't much of it in the city. Outside of Central Park and the occasional minivan, there was just a whole lot of gray and brown. It got old really fast. Frankie's shirt had once been green, as had her bag, but, like the bag, the shirt looked more like a mud puddle now.

Studying her reflection, Frankie tried to see herself as if she was someone else. It was an odd thing to do; she'd never really cared what other people thought about her, least of all her looks. She knew that what you looked like didn't really matter. That it was what you did that was important. It was the philosophy she'd grown up with and accepted completely. But here she was, looking over herself critically. Her hair was dark and too long, messy and tangled, but at least now it was clean. She brushed through it with her fingers, loving the way it felt in her hand. She almost decided that having her clothes shamelessly stolen would be worth it, just to have her hair clean, but caught herself before she could think the words. She wasn't ready to forgive Mikey for interrupting her shower until she'd gotten in a good whack. Besides, she still owed him for that stupid video game.

She knew she was skinny and small, but it didn't bother her, except where her size gave her a disadvantage in a fight. Suddenly bored of the mirror, she looked down to where she was unconsciously holding her left arm close to her side. It was purely instinct now. She clenched her fist tightly then flexed her fingers, wincing at the sting that ran up her wrist. The rest of her body she was okay with, but this stupid hand caused her an awful lot of trouble. More than it was worth, really. Sometimes she wished the Shredder had just cut it all the way off.

It was really starting to get sore, she noted worriedly. Rummaging through a tiny medicine cabinet – chock-full of gauze, bandages, and antiseptics – she found a rolled elastic wrap and, relieved, wound it quickly around her hand.

There. She surveyed her handiwork, nodding approval. The pressure kept it from hurting too much, so she could actually _use_ it, and it covered up the ugly, parallel scars that ran across her wrist.

Now, to wait. Frankie hated waiting. It was one of the things she really sucked at.


	7. Chapter 7

"Guys? Is anybody here?"

"April!"

Don and Raph went to meet their friend, who had walked in with a bundle of something in her arms.

"Hi, guys." She held out her load. "I brought the clothes like you asked, Don, though I still haven't figured out why you want them."

Don took the proffered garments from her before passing them off to Raph.

"Here."

"Wha- I don't want those, Donny."

Don rolled his eyes. "Raph, just take them."

He grumbled a little and stalked off towards the bathroom. Don turned back to April. "Thanks a lot, April."

"Uh, no problem. Anytime." April tried – and failed – to hide her confusion. "It's all stuff I was planning on throwing out anyway." She looked at him sideways. "Is there a reason you wanted my old clothes?"

Don nodded and started to answer but was interrupted by a flash of orange and green as Mikey sailed by on his skateboard, cackling.

"Haha, watch it Donny! Hey April!" He turned back and forth so that he was zigzagging around them. "Guess what we have? Don got a – AAAHH!"

There was a loud crash and Mikey groaned from his new position on the floor. Leo stood up, rubbing his arm.

"Watch where you're going, Mikey."

April shook her head, amused. Don just shook his head.

Raph's familiar voice rang out. He came stalking towards them, pointing a sai menacingly towards Don. "I swear, bro, you have the _worst_ taste in friends."

April raised her hands in confusion. "Okay, wait. What in the world is going on?"

Raph looked at his brothers. "You didn't tell her yet?"

Don sighed. "I've been trying, but certain turtles keep interrupting me."

April started to say something, but was caught off-guard when a skinny girl with wild hair came bounding out of the bathroom wearing her old clothes.

"Hey Mikey, c'mere a sec, I gotta score to –" Her voice cut off suddenly. "Who the hell are you?" she asked April suspiciously.

April blinked in shock, then crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same question."

Don said hastily, "Frankie, this is April. April, Frankie."

Frankie relaxed her stiff posture. "Oh, so you're April? Ain't you human, though? What're you doin' hangin' with these freaks?" ("Hey!" Mikey said indignantly)

April seemed at a loss.

Raph scowled. "Who you callin' a freak, kid?"

Frankie stuck her tongue out. "You."

April couldn't help it; she had to giggle at that. She had no idea who this girl was, but the turtles seemed comfortable with her there, so there probably wasn't anything to worry about.

Frankie regarded her and let a lopsided grin slide onto her face. "Well, you ain't too bad." She pulled at a thread hanging from the sleeve of the old blouse she was wearing. "This your stuff?" she asked, indicating the clothes.

Nodding, April absent-mindedly smacked Frankie's hand away. "Stop picking at that. You're going to ruin the sleeve."

Frankie stiffened and narrowed her eyes. "Don't touch me."

Taken aback by the sudden hostility, April said nothing.

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" Leo reprimanded the stubborn girl. She scowled briefly, then exhaled in a loud whoosh.

"Don, where's my bag? You ain't washin' that too, are you?"

"I put it in the dojo."

"Huh?"

"I'll show her," Raph said, gesturing to the girl before jumping halfway across the room.

Frankie caught her breath for a minute, then muttered, "Damn ninja," and ran after him. The three remaining turtles, and one startled redhead, watched them go. Leo turned back to April.

"I'm sorry about that," he mumbled apologetically.

"Oh, it's fine, Leo. Don't worry," she replied, sounding a little flustered.

Mikey, afraid that they had forgotten him, laughed and sarcastically said "Geeze, Donny, way to go."

Don stiffened indignantly. "What did I do?"

"Duh, you brought her here."

"Mikey," Leo warned.

"Wha-at?" Mikey drawled the word, stretching it into two syllables.

Leo just gave Mikey a Look. Mikey pouted. He got a lot of Leo's Looks. "Fine. Be that way."

Don kneaded his eyes tiredly. "Mikey, just –"

He broke off at the sounds of metal clanging on metal coming from the dojo.

The three turtles looked at each other, then said "Raph" in unison and sprinted for the dojo. April followed, almost saying 'wait for me!', but realizing it would be pointless.

The turtles' worry turned to confusion when they heard a peal of laughter. Rushing into the dojo, weapons at the ready, they were surprised to see Frankie and Raph sparring. Raph was clearly getting the best of her, but Frankie looked like she was having the time of her life. She was laughing as she tried to parry an attack with the knife in her hand. Raph wasn't smiling, exactly, but he, too, appeared to be enjoying himself.

"Think fast, Red!" Frankie shouted. She whipped a blade from her back pocket and flung it towards his head. He dodged it easily and it embedded itself in the wall less than a metre from where Mikey was standing. He shrieked in surprise.

Frankie laughed and waved at them, coming over and yanking the knife from the wall before clicking it shut. "Hey."

She was grinning ear to ear, panting and giggling breathlessly. "That was _awesome_," she said between gasps, turning to give Raph a high-five. "We gotta do that again sometime, Red. And you gotta show me summa those moves. You're fast."

Mikey puffed his chest out. "I'm way faster than Raph."

"Keep tellin' yourself that, Mikey." Raph smirked.

"You know it's true, Raphie-boy, you just don't want to admit it."

"Whatever," was the muttered reply.

Frankie eyed Mikey thoughtfully. "You wanna go? I dunno how you fight with those stick-things though."

Mikey looked affronted. "Oh no you di'n't!"

"C'mon, then, turtle-boy, show me what ya got!"

"You are _so_ going down!"

April watched as Mikey dodged a series of feints before Frankie managed to clip him with her fist. Frankie laughed again. April watched them, thinking. Her four ninja friends always attracted strange people, and though she was still confused and a little hurt by Frankie's inexplicable hostility earlier, she didn't think that the girl was any kind of threat.

Frankie, for her part, didn't spare April another thought. She was completely focused on her match with Mikey, and loving every second of it. It had been a while since she'd play-fought with anyone. It was usually just practising by herself or fighting for her life and pride. This was something she had missed.

-x-

_A/N Wow, two chapters in one night? I know, I'm surprised too. Frankly, (lol, Frankie!) I didn't realize that I had one overly-long chapter until I'd finished typing it up, so it was split into two. Hope you enjoyed. Please review on the way out, my inbox is lonely and I'll have Frankie and Raph beat you up if you don't. 'Kay? Good._

_As always, thanks to __**Mikell**__, __**TMNTgirl**__ and __**TMNT Redneck**__ for your reviews! _


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